Does your HS require community service?

[Anonymous]

60 hrs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:150 hours from Junior and Senior years.

This is excessive. What school is this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:150 hours from Junior and Senior years.

This is excessive. What school is this?

St Anselms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not many hours at these schools.

I assume kids are welcome to do more than required and most have plenty of clubs and such to help a child do more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not many hours at these schools.

I assume kids are welcome to do more than required and most have plenty of clubs and such to help a child do more.

Agree. But some places require only 15 hrs per year. You could knock that put in a weekend easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:150 hours from Junior and Senior years.

This is excessive. What school is this?

St Anselms.

It's not an hours requirement the way most schools do it. It is a regular part of the school day, like a class block: they all go to work at a location in the local community for several hours every week during the school day (local grade schools, public library, cleaning homes of local senior citizens, working in the Franciscan Monastery garden for food banks, etc.). It is a part of the ora et labora ethos: service work is a regular part of the schedule, just like academics and sports and prayer (or silent meditation, if you aren't religious). It also regularly gets them out of their own heads for a spell at a time in high school when academics are so intense, reminding them to focus on others as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:150 hours from Junior and Senior years.

This is excessive. What school is this?

St Anselms.

It's not an hours requirement the way most schools do it. It is a regular part of the school day, like a class block: they all go to work at a location in the local community for several hours every week during the school day (local grade schools, public library, cleaning homes of local senior citizens, working in the Franciscan Monastery garden for food banks, etc.). It is a part of the ora et labora ethos: service work is a regular part of the schedule, just like academics and sports and prayer (or silent meditation, if you aren't religious). It also regularly gets them out of their own heads for a spell at a time in high school when academics are so intense, reminding them to focus on others as well.

That sounds great! And gets them interacting with people of different ages. I think kids really step up when they're outside their comfort zone, too.

[Anonymous]

It’s the law in MD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s the law in MD

For public. Private schools can still require (or not) whatever service hours they want.

[Anonymous]

Stone Ridge builds it into the high school curriculum. About once a month the students go to various sites for community service during the school day. The girls mostly love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:150 hours from Junior and Senior years.

This is excessive. What school is this?

St Anselms.

It's not an hours requirement the way most schools do it. It is a regular part of the school day, like a class block: they all go to work at a location in the local community for several hours every week during the school day (local grade schools, public library, cleaning homes of local senior citizens, working in the Franciscan Monastery garden for food banks, etc.). It is a part of the ora et labora ethos: service work is a regular part of the schedule, just like academics and sports and prayer (or silent meditation, if you aren't religious). It also regularly gets them out of their own heads for a spell at a time in high school when academics are so intense, reminding them to focus on others as well.

I love this. I think it would be great if completely baked into the school day because part of what these schools should be teaching is good global citizenship.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not many hours at these schools.

I assume kids are welcome to do more than required and most have plenty of clubs and such to help a child do more.

Agree. But some places require only 15 hrs per year. You could knock that put in a weekend easy.

It may also depend on whether the school lets the student double-count service hours they are already doing for another activity, and therefore you might have kids doing far more than 15hrs per year. This might not be analogous, but my child is preparing for their 9th grade Confirmation at a Catholic school. We have been told that the service hours required for that may not be things he is already doing as part of other organizations like Boy Scouts. It has to be an effort uniquely tied to this preparation.

[Anonymous]

Actually, 15 hours can be difficult on some families. We have to get the hours approved and there are certain things that may not be accepted. For example, DC could not use there hours pulling weeds with a local teen volunteer organization. They also could not use the hours handing out water during a race. It had to be helping community in need. Many of these are on weekends and rely on parents to be there also. They also are usually only 2-3 hours at a time, so require multiple trips.
We do much more than 15 hours, but the specifics with 3 DCs, make it a challenge, a worthwhile challenge, but a challenge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually, 15 hours can be difficult on some families. We have to get the hours approved and there are certain things that may not be accepted. For example, DC could not use there hours pulling weeds with a local teen volunteer organization. They also could not use the hours handing out water during a race. It had to be helping community in need. Many of these are on weekends and rely on parents to be there also. They also are usually only 2-3 hours at a time, so require multiple trips.
We do much more than 15 hours, but the specifics with 3 DCs, make it a challenge, a worthwhile challenge, but a challenge.

Seriously? Your family cannot figure out how to put in 45 hours of community service to poor people over the course of an entire year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Actually, 15 hours can be difficult on some families. We have to get the hours approved and there are certain things that may not be accepted. For example, DC could not use there hours pulling weeds with a local teen volunteer organization. They also could not use the hours handing out water during a race. It had to be helping community in need. Many of these are on weekends and rely on parents to be there also. They also are usually only 2-3 hours at a time, so require multiple trips.
We do much more than 15 hours, but the specifics with 3 DCs, make it a challenge, a worthwhile challenge, but a challenge.

Seriously? Your family cannot figure out how to put in 45 hours of community service to poor people over the course of an entire year?

+1